Consciousness, The Brain and Behavior

Today's reading was not an attempt to confuse you. One article shows that there is a clear set of data to support the fact that there is a real connection between video games and brain behavior. The second piece was merely to highlight the problem of consciousness and where it lies within the brain.

If the article on consciousness seemed more confusing than concrete there is a reason for that. There is no clear consensus on where consciousness lies but we all know and accept it as somewhere in the brain. The article goes on to explain that consciousness could be a result of many portions of the brain working in concert to create a walking taking Ego. Take a moment and look up the Word Ego in the dictionary if you are not clear on its meaning.......Ok now that you've done that lets discuss it for a moment. The Ego, as defined by Freud, really defines consciousness in human beings. This is who we are, or who we think we are and it defines us. The Ego is also the part of our consciousness which deals most with the external world and makes meaning from the things we perceive. So...if the consciousness exists in the brain, and consists of many parts working together, and (as the second article points out)videogames have a clear impact on our brains functioning, then they also have the power to alter our consciousness.

Let that sink in for a moment.

Videogames can alter our consciousness. Now were getting into Science fiction territory right? Anyone hear of the new blockbuster movie Avatar? It's another Hollywood blockbuster but has a nice twist in the plot. Apparently (in the film) the military is capable of doing the old mind meld between two different people. One person's consciousness is transferred to the body of another and is able to experience all kinds of things through them.

This reminds of one of our main points from yesterday. Knowledge is imperfect. Many of our experiences come to us indirectly through movies, other people, language etc. These attenuated experiences create our consciousness and Ego. Our Self. What is to separate the Avatar experience from that of our actual experience? One remove? Maybe two? Take a minute and look up "Avatar"....... Ok what i have here translates literally from Hindu as "incarnation". An avatar is an incarnation of our self and can be an extension of our consciousness. The experiences we have through the Avatar also have the capability of changing our consciousness. That is a pretty big deal. It is even more important because that is what most video games do. They present an Avatar under your control, capable of taking action in a world of defined possibilities.

How real is it?

Some readings for tommorrow:
Short article on how great games are

An article on Socializing in Online Games

A final article on Solitude in a world of connectivity

The video embedded on the left is there for entertainment, and to point out how seriously teenage kids can be affected by these games. Never seen anything like it.
On a different note. Please be sure that your posts meet the 100 word minimum outlined in the course information on th4e portal.